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Small business support for minimum wage hike not what meets the eye
September 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Bangor Daily News
What can a sex shop owner tell us about Maine’s $12 minimum wage proposal? A fair amount, according to the left-wing Maine Small Business Coalition. The coalition included the owner — and sole employee — of Presque Isle’s Twisted Knickers on its petition of 150 business owners who support the 60 percent wage hike that activists are trying to place on next year’s ballot. It’s a story tailor-made for the press: Small… -
Nevada’s teen job crisis is summer’s biggest disaster
August 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Las Vegas Review-Journal
It was one of the worst releases of the summer. No, I’m not talking about the box-office disaster known as “Fantastic Four” — although teens who shelled out $10 for a ticket to that movie surely are looking for a refund. Rather, I’m talking about the monthly jobs report released by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. It showed that though teen unemployment has ticked down slightly,… -
Even prominent liberal economist against a statewide $15 minimum wage
August 2015 · Michael Saltsman · OC Register
California Attorney General Kamala Harris this past week approved for signature collection a 2016 ballot measure that would raise the state’s minimum wage to $15 an hour by 2021. The measure is backed by the powerful union SEIU-UHW, which collected more than $100 million in dues and fees last year and should have little trouble bankrolling the collection of 366,000 signatures needed to place the question before… -
CEO Who Raised Pay To 70K Couldn’t Defy Gravity
August 2015 · Mark J. Perry and Michael Saltsman · Investor's Business Daily
He was hailed as the country’s best boss. Dan Price, the 31-year-old founder of Seattle-based Gravity Payments, received flattering news coverage this year after he announced his company would raise its minimum wage to $70,000 per year. Three months later, the party’s over, and Price is fighting an economic hangover better known as the law of unintended consequences. The New York Times reported this past weekend on the fallout… -
Caution needed on minimum wage in unincorporated L.A. County: Guest commentary
August 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Los Angeles Daily News
After signing a bill to create a $15 minimum wage in the Los Angeles city limits, Mayor Eric Garcetti cautioned that a wage floor this high isn’t right for every city or state. Unfortunately, his caution didn’t extend to the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. In July, with the mayor’s encouragement, three of the county’s five supervisors voted to proceed with an ordinance to raise the… -
UC Berkeley researchers miss the mark on minimum wage increases
July 2015 · Michael Saltsman · Sacramento Bee
Sacramento is the latest California city to consider a higher minimum wage, and proponents have cited studies from researchers affiliated with the University of California, Berkeley, suggesting a wage raise is mostly beneficial. This same team is expected to release results for Sacramento. It’s an intoxicating conclusion for lawmakers in search of research that supports their policy preferences. But the predictive track record of team Berkeley suggests…